About Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) is a coalition of 22 public policy offices of national churches and agencies -- Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. CMEP began its work in 1984 out of the conviction that the policy perspectives and long Middle East experience of our member bodies should be more widely known in the public policy arena. We therefore seek to maintain an on-going dialogue with Congress, the Administration and the diplomatic community, to advance such concerns, assessments, and advocacy positions.

The work of Churches for Middle East Peace focuses on Washington in the knowledge that sound United States policy is crucial to achieving and maintaining just and stable relationships throughout the Middle East. In addition, CMEP seeks to help the members of our organizations advocate in a knowledgeable, timely and effective way their concerns about justice and peace for all people and countries in the region.

Among our principal advocacy concerns are: the avoidance and resolution of armed conflicts, human rights, arms control, foreign aid, and the unique nature of Jerusalem - sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims.

CMEP's brochure

CMEP Members

Leadership Council

CMEP Partners

Churches for Middle East Peace advocates positions that:

1) realize the vision of a region where two viable states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side within secure and recognized borders;

2) promote the sharing of an undivided Jerusalem by the two peoples -- Israelis and Palestinians -- and by the three religious communities that call it sacred;

3) encourage negotiated, just, and peaceful resolutions to conflicts in the region;

4) promote the right of people to live in peace and security, free of fears of harassment, oppression, and violence;

5) encourage the demilitarization of conflicts and help to establish the Middle East as a region free of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons;

6) foster respect for human rights based on full observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights covenants of the United Nations, and the Geneva Conventions;

7) encourage equitable development and humanitarian assistance to the region by the United States and other nations;

8) promote the rights, and meet the humanitarian needs, of refugees and displaced persons in the region;

9) support the United Nations in playing an important role in seeking a just resolution of problems and the maintenance of a region without conflict;

10) recognize the religious importance of the region to Jews, Christians, and Muslims and protect the religious freedom of all.

~ Churches for Middle East Peace -- 110 Maryland Ave., NE #311 - Washington, DC - 20002 --